Piranesi and the Modern Age

Abstract

there has been moral “regress” (p. 183). Racism and sexism in many countries has declined, but at the same time economic disparities have grown, and “political moralities” (p. 183) in some countries have shifted to entrenched conservative ideologies. They also point out that any sense of moral progress must be tempered by how modern industrial societies treat nonhuman animals as food. Groups, they note, could morally include animals, not exclude them. In this light they discuss moral progress theory, in which reality is biased toward progress by applying reason and informed information. The moral mind is flexible and can, rather than spin into violence with dehumanized reaction, approach inclusivity, they claim, as history shows. Kumar and Campbell say modern moral progress has been uneven, favoring some and excluding others, notably with patriarchy, gender discrimination, and social injustice, the last of which encompasses climate change. Their model of cultural moral progress shows how anything evolutionary is typically gradual, with headway at times but perhaps stasis elsewhere. They insist class structures are deliberately manipulated by the rich and powerful to subvert others, illustrating their notion of moral progress and regress. We see this in anthropogenic climate change and the slow response to avoiding disaster, since wealthy and powerful countries that have caused the problem benefit from producing and using massive amounts of fossil fuels. Moral progress concerning climate justice can be seen on the fringes within groups or political parties in some countries or institutions. In their plan for moral progress, dispersed egalitarian groups need greater social integration to prioritize the battle against misinformation fostering biases and ignorance. The end of the book is ironic, with the question of whether humans will become a better ape, but the text is a worthy example of reflective philosophy that could help transform societies for the better. pIrAnESI And ThE modErn AgE